German official unemployment shows surprise drop in January

The German economy remains surprisingly resilient to the eurozone debt crisis, with unemployment in Europe's top economy falling again this month, official data showed on Thursday.

Unemployment rose sharply in January, with the jobless rate jumping to 7.4 percent in raw or unadjusted terms from 6.7 percent in December, according to monthly data compiled by the Federal Labour Office.

And the unadjusted jobless total was up by more than 298,000 to 3.138 million.

But the increase was solely due to seasonal factors, such as the cold winter weather and the underlying trend remained positive, agency chief Frank-Juergen Weise insisted.

"The unfavourable economic conditions haven't left much of a mark on the labour market. The latest rise in unemployment is purely due to seasonal factors," Weise said.